Florida elections in the national spotlight

OUR OPINION: VOTERS HAVE VALID CONCERNS ABOUT ELECTION

 

The national spotlight will shine brighter on Florida on Nov. 2 than on any other state. The reasons go beyond the 2000 presidential debacle. After all, even if Florida had enjoyed smooth elections in the four years since, and even if its new electronic voting equipment didn't continue to pose reliability and accuracy questions, the state has one other unique factor that draws attention to it on Election Day. President Bush's brother Jeb is Florida's governor.

Problems continue

Gov. Bush, the Legislature, and state and county election officials have done a lot to promote largely glitch-free elections since 2000. Unfortunately, despite all the money, resources and new technology that have been devoted to improving Florida's election performance, problems continue.

Secretary of State Glenda Hood contributed to the concerns by distributing to election supervisors a mistake-riddled list of felons to be removed from voting rolls. Revelations by The Herald and other media showed that the list, heavily endowed with black felons' names, failed to include Hispanic felons who might be ineligible to vote. Ms. Hood has since wisely discarded the list.

But state officials must do more to reassure Florida voters and U.S. voters as a whole about the integrity of the voting process. Last week Miami-Dade County's electronic voting system crashed, erasing records of the close 2000 Democratic gubernatorial primary in the county. And, in two subsequent Miami-Dade municipal elections, some machines malfunctioned and failed to accurately record votes. Ms. Hood has refused calls for an independent audit of the electronic voting machines used in 15 Florida counties to ensure their proper function by the Aug. 31 primary election.

No backup record

Making matters worse, the Legislature this year prohibited the state from doing manual recounts on the electronic machines, creating a virtual ban on amassing a paper trail with the use of printers. Lawmakers based their decision on the fact that the electronic devices prevent voters from casting the confusing overvotes found on punch cards in 2000. But without a printed receipt of each vote cast, the state has no backup record for full recounts. Miami-Dade's glitches exposed the need for a backup. Other states have moved to install printers on electronic systems. Unfortunately, Florida can't do that until the Legislature reverses itself.

But Ms. Hood can still help assuage legitimate worries about the accuracy of Florida's coming elections. At the least, she can order an independent audit of our electronic voting systems. She must move quickly, as the primary is exactly 30 days away.